A number of drain opening devices are known from the prior art. Those which apply force, other than that which is generated from the suction cup, include piston-type drain cleaning devices as described in U.S. Pat. Nos.: 2,218,050; 739,120; 766,734; 1,040,276; 1,047,726; 2,128,217; 2,456,092; 2,697,842; 3,641,597; 4,542,543; 4,186,451; 3,934,280; 4,733,414; 4,674,137 and Canadian Patents 339,790; 155,937; 243,319 and 529,543. The piston type suction plungers for clearing clogged drains or pipes are very complex in structure as can be seen from the above-noted references.
A second device used for clearing clogged drains relies on the use of compressed gas or air to provide the required pressure to clear the clogged drains. Examples of this type of drain clearing device can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,939,154 and Canadian Patent 358,907.
A third type is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,644,943, which utilizes the suction cup action of a standard plunger, but replaces the firm handle with a resilient handle which is compressed and stretched as the operating handle is reciprocated. This device reportedly can be operated with use of only one hand and, therefore, has certain advantages over the known plunger device.
The present drain or pipe clearing device utilizes the suction cup principle to its fullest potential, with ease, and without resulting in any slashing or spilling caused by turbulence when the drain or pipe clearing device is in use.